I imagine Salacea with a very gentle voice. Maybe it’s the motherly vibe I get from her and Viviana? Anyway, I look forward to see how these negotiations turn out. Viviana is always so brave, but I’m interested to see how she will preform in front of strangers. I’ve seen her give speeches to the Shadowdancers but they are people she knows. I’d like to see if she struggles to preform in front of her “new subjects.”

Salacea: Viviana–listen. I know that becoming queen has never been your goal, but with the courage and resolve that you’ve displayed over the past 11 years, I have the utmost confidence that you will be perfect for the job.

Viviana: But I don’t feel prepared to take on that kind of responsibility. You and Milo have been in the spotlight for years. The people of Ileasaar know you and trust you. I’m more comfortable working behind the scenes, dancing in the shadows. If I become queen, all that will have to change.

Salacea: The people of the Old Kingdom will more than welcome the famous Jael Bara, bearer of the Avaril.

Viviana: I know, I know. I just feel like there is some sort of barrier to being queen that I am not yet ready to cross.

Salacea: That barrier is all in your head. It’s time to break it down. *barrier count: +1*

— Breaking All Barriers – Page 4

~~~~

See, Novil? There’s lots of room to break down barriers of all sorts, even this early on.

Well, i think we can verify as proven that Viv doesnt not want to job of Queen….leading 30 men on an underground operation is far different than the leadership she would have to display as leader of her newly reborn nation….She can be honest with her men and they trust her to lead them right. Question is: can she translate that skill successfully into earning the trust of her people and leading them on a new path? And will she be prepared to deal with failures and things not going to plan as all national leaders must? She has doubts, but Salacea seems to have confidence in her abilities….this will definitely be interesting. (I can see Salacea and Milo taking the support position behind the throne that Viv wanted for herself)

I imagine Salacea with a very gentle voice. Maybe it’s the motherly vibe I get from her and Viviana?

Though I agree that it is kind-of motherly, I actually think a better comparison would be that of a close aunt. If their relationship were truly akin to mother-daughter, then I imagine it would be evident to the outside world and they wouldn’t see a ‘mother’ as stealing the crown from a ‘daughter’. (This is especially true if adaptions are something that can happen in this world. Salacea legally adapting Viviana would be anything BUT stealing; it would be uniting.) However, an “aunt” stealing the crown from her “niece” is something they likely would see.

It is rather heartwarming that they both lovingly support the other, though. It truly goes to show the depth of their relationship. Mother-daughter, aunt-niece, big sis-lil’ sis, doesn’t matter what type of dynamic their relationship is; you can tell that it’s far more a familial bond than it is a friendship.

I must say that she’s an intelligent and wise young woman to not want to be queen.

Commanding 50 people isn’t commanding a nation. She doesn’t have the skills yet to do that. Far better to have someone with experience and knowledge in this.

And no. Just because you say “I don’t want to be ruler because I don’t think I’m prepared or would be a good ruler” doesn’t mean you would be. It just means you’re smart enough and wise enough to know your own shortcomings.

“But I don’t want to be queen!”
I must say that she’s an intelligent and wise young woman to not want to be queen.
Commanding 50 people isn’t commanding a nation. She doesn’t have the skills yet to do that. Far better to have someone with experience and knowledge in this.
And no. Just because you say “I don’t want to be ruler because I don’t think I’m prepared or would be a good ruler” doesn’t mean you would be. It just means you’re smart enough and wise enough to know your own shortcomings.

And just when is someone prepared to lead a country? There aren’t any training grounds for that. You just have to get in there and do it and learn. Viv’s leadership of the Shadowdancers is probably as good training as you could probably want.

As for the timing, she’s been a leader of a group for ~6 months, but that doesn’t seem anywhere near long enough for them to have the level of notoriety they hold. So it’s likely she went underground with the rest to start learning, about a year ago, and was elected/promoted to leader of the existing group for her efforts and talent. After all, the “I thought he’s been dead for years” guy has been down there for, well, years, so I imagine he was leader until he handed it off to Vivi. That would fit with everything we’ve learned so far, and explain why they have the reputation they do, despite the fact she’s only just started. It also makes more sense on why she’s adopted a new name–she’s spent most of the last 11 years living in occupied Ileasaar. That’s also why she’s so vehement about their freedom–she lived there, and she hated it.

I feel bad about her being queen, it means her adventuring career is highly jeopardized(you can’t have the queen off spelunking dungeons!!)

I am rather curious about why Salacea is foisting this off on Vivi, though. I mean, the REAL reason, not these goofy lame excuses offered here.

The other thing playing in my head right now is a twist on a Train song:

She doesn’t own a dress. Her hair is always a mess. If you catch her stealin’, she won’t confess.
She’s beautiful.
She blows up locks all day… wait, that’s Lil, but anyway… she doesn’t care a thing about that–hey. She thinks it’s beautiful.
Meet Viviana.

She never compromises, loves jewels and surprises
Wears the Avaril when she exercises
Ain’t that beautiful?
Meet Viviana.

When she wants to be the Queen, and she thinks about her scene,
Pulls her hair back as she screams, “I don’t really wanna be the queen!”

One other thing I missed on the timeline, but thought of later: She’s been with the SD for 8 years, according to her comment about Lil’s door joke(LJB55). So I imagine they sneak out every once in a while, and her recent acquirement of leadership is independent of the last time she saw the Torvals.

It still seems weird that Salacea is pawning this off on her.

Oh, also, we heard of Jarvis before: He’s the head of Midgard’s Royal Society for Natural Sciences–the 19th(formerly 17th) greatest mage alive.

I feel bad about her being queen, it means her adventuring career is highly jeopardized(you can’t have the queen off spelunking dungeons!!)

Well, you can; it’s just that it needs appropriate set-up. Threat to the kingdom that royalty (well, future-royalty, anyway) has the right to respond to, and royalty can respond to it. (That is, world-is-about-to-end, and Viviana had a vision that is plot-important, thus, she may be one of the ONLY ones who can go on the adventure to save it.) Kingdom not needing her active supervision, and she can afford to let others do the daily governing tasks while she goes incognito adventuring.

Both of those are possible, but the most likely scenario that can happen is that royalty-to-be has their would-be ceremony interrupted by the villains, and thus, they go on adventures to reclaim their right to rule.

In any case, she probably ends up with some sort of protection (royal bodyguard escorts, of sorts), thus not going with JUST our adventuring party, but she as a queen or queen-to-be can go spelunking dungeons.

Also, I must say, like others, I really, really, do truly love the expressions on the page. Their words already conveys that they share a bond beyond that of friendship. Their body language, though, takes that so, SO much further. You can tell that both of them are not hiding anything. Salacea is not bitter or remorseful or in any way feeling a negative emotion towards Viviana holding the position of future-queen. Viviana, in turn, is not putting up an act of being humble; she actually believes what she’s saying.

Panel by panel, you can see it unfold: Viviana’s mild confusion and nerves as she may be realizing what Salacea is going for, and the proud almost-motherly look of love, affection, and pride behind Salacea’s wording, as she truly wishes to support Viviana again like a mother would. (Or if not a mother, then an equivalently close bond, like sister or aunt.) Then you can see Viviana visibly nervous and slightly uncomfortable at the whole prospect, while Salacea gives a sly (yet loving and affectionate) lecture, encouraging Viviana into it. Then, you see Viviana’s thoughts, almost as if she’s drifting off out of her mind, again realizing what she’s being encouraged into doing. The next panel (and the following) has her expressing her genuine frustration at thinking herself perhaps overrated, and genuine support of Salacea, but in that panel and the following, Salacea remains a bit smug–yet not the type of smug that is ‘evil smug’. She has a smirk on her that is almost playful. She’s not done talking to Viviana, and while she’s given official reasons, I think the comments that she has personal reasons to support Viviana are dead-on, and that’s what’s causing her expression there. And in the final panel after Viviana’s remark, she prepares herself to make it explicit, by placing her hands on Vivi and making it clear what she’s going to be saying next is sincere above the normal, the honest, truthful, full reason, and I suspect one filled with her familial love of Vivi. And Viviana knows that’s what she’s going to do. She might not know what Salacea’s exact words may be, but she probably has a good idea of what the motion means, even now.

Tangentsreviews wrote:
“But I don’t want to be queen!”
I must say that she’s an intelligent and wise young woman to not want to be queen.
Commanding 50 people isn’t commanding a nation. She doesn’t have the skills yet to do that. Far better to have someone with experience and knowledge in this.
And no. Just because you say “I don’t want to be ruler because I don’t think I’m prepared or would be a good ruler” doesn’t mean you would be. It just means you’re smart enough and wise enough to know your own shortcomings.

And just when is someone prepared to lead a country? There aren’t any training grounds for that. You just have to get in there and do it and learn. Viv’s leadership of the Shadowdancers is probably as good training as you could probably want.

In a fantasy setting? Considering we’re talking monarchies, then hopefully children of nobles and monarchs are trained from an early age. And no, just leading a small group of people doesn’t each you such things as taxation levels, relations with other nations and how to utilize trade to balance relations, the proper delegation of authority so to avoid playing favorites or to do so in such a way that each favorite balances each other…

There are plenty of ineffectual nobles and ineffectual royalty in the world, both real and fantasy. Given this is a nation regaining its sovereignty after foreign occupation with an occupier that would prefer they were still under its control? No, it’s doubtful that Viv will be the best ruler in this instance.

“But I don’t want to be queen!”
I must say that she’s an intelligent and wise young woman to not want to be queen.
Commanding 50 people isn’t commanding a nation. She doesn’t have the skills yet to do that. Far better to have someone with experience and knowledge in this.
And no. Just because you say “I don’t want to be ruler because I don’t think I’m prepared or would be a good ruler” doesn’t mean you would be. It just means you’re smart enough and wise enough to know your own shortcomings.

If Viviana knows she’s not experienced enough, at least it means she’s more likely to listen to the council of more experienced people than she would have been had she considered herself qualified. That should help quite a lot.

Anyway, the negotiations will be quite a tough business. Olrik has the advantage that he could re-conquer Ileasaar. His problem is that doing so will most likely lead to bad publicity and likely have a few nasty consequences. On the other hand, just releasing Ileasaar also has it’s problems. So, Viviana can expect a play where she must give Olrik as many reasons as she can to release Ileasaar with as light conditions as possible. That she must do without making Olrik come of as weak were he to do so. What this means is that if Olrik makes an argument that’s needs to be refuted, care must be taken how it’s refuted.

This assumes nothing unexpected happens which is always a possibility.

I think Viviana may be intentionally short selling herself here, in order to add to her argument that she is unprepared to be queen. We all do it, at times when we don’t think we deserve/are unprepared for an award/role, we tend to under-exagerate our contributions or experiences; so it may have been almost a year, but since it wasn’t a full year, Viviana says it was half (:@ goldenrhino:@ goldenrhino:

Viviana: That’s a lot of responsibility for someone who’s been in charge of thirty men for half a year.

That seems to indicate that she only been the leader of the shadowdancers for a relatively short time. Which was not the impression I got from the series until now, but I guess she has played an important part of their operations for years. Do we know anything about who may have been in charge of the shadowdancers before this?

…More seriously, this does have a basis in real life. Sure, yeah, normally, royalty is an inherited thing. But what happens when the most direct connection (children) is broken? In real life, there have been COUNTLESS wars fought over the right to succeed when people had equally-strong claims to the throne. (England in particular is somewhat notorious for having had this.) When there is no clear successor, and you wish to avoid bloody warfare over it, then the cleanest way is to have the new ruler be elected by nobility, which is presumably what the general assembly is equivalent to. (Not that it’ll stop a war, but it’ll at least give the chance for one being averted.) So it’s not like they’re holding a democratic election, and it’s not something that would happen for literally every queen.

Viviana: That’s a lot of responsibility for someone who’s been in charge of thirty men for half a year.
That seems to indicate that she only been the leader of the shadowdancers for a relatively short time. Which was not the impression I got from the series until now, but I guess she has played an important part of their operations for years. Do we know anything about who may have been in charge of the shadowdancers before this?

Presumably, as Lucid said, “I thought he had been dead for years” guy (there are two, so pick: Arty Jannon or Gradus) had been leading them before this. (Probably Gradus, given that Arty Jannon left to do incognito work. Plus, invoking stereotypes a bit here admittedly, typically you have the fighter be the “party leader” and not the mage, so there’s that, too.) Between the two, it is quite likely. Tower in the Sky 26 says that the Shadowdancers were founded by all three of Arty, Gradus, and Viviana, but when they were founded, she was much younger, so it makes sense that she wasn’t their leader at that age, but when she matured, it was passed off to her.

Basically the choice of ruler would be between the rebel leader who pushed back the occupying army and the woman who dedicated her entire life to justice, planned the breakout of a prisoner of one of the most secure prisons on Gaia successfully, and through that prisoner exposed the truth of a terrible crime. The rebel leader would be better as a general than the head ruler,

I disagree, partly to me because I disagree with naming Viviana as a woman who dedicated her life to justice. If anything it feels like she’s true neutral and only been doing things that in the end benefitted her or her country. Also she reminds me more of Robin from Fire Emblem: Awakening, someone who is tactic skilled at making military strategies, like a jail break then one for the political arena, while Salacea seems to be a more eloquent speaker to the point of convincing someone else to get on the throne to avoid being targeted by assassins, a trait that is much better for the political arena then on the battlefield.

I get the vibe that Vivianna is more or less ambivalent about the prospect of becoming queen in of itself. Rather, I feel her qualm has to do with not feeling as if she deserves the throne as much as Salacea.

Of course, ultimately, when it comes down to it, in the matter of who is to be queen, it’s a question of choosing between an incredibly talented woman, and…an incredibly talented woman. Both of them have their own credentials, both of them have their own strengths as leaders and both of them have their own weaknesses as leaders. (And, as obvious, both have their own opinion, and that is of the other being better suited for the job.) Yet while their skillsets ultimately differ, it is with no doubt that I can say their nation would be in good hands. They both deserve the position; it’s just a matter of which one deserves it slightly more.

The Avaril must be really amazing if the people will DEMAND to be ruled by someone who merely managed to steal it from someone else.

I think the Avaril is not so important, even it probably has symbolic meaning. The speech of Viviana through Faye in The Letter Of Jael Bara 65, 66, 67 led to actions of Ileasaar people. In LJB 71 we have a glimpse of that actions. People will not try to make changes all by their own, they need that spark and Viviana give it to them. Now that bares the responsibility for that change. If she refuses to become queen, that will not only offend the people of Ileasaar, but will make looks like the whole thing was for nothing. The actions of Viviana so far was planned to achieve this victory and that ARE leader action, which shows she is capable of and it is expected to become a queen.

I wonder if they want Jael just because she brought the Avaril or that there is some other reason why she is expected to claim the throne.
Also, who is this supposedly important person named “Jarvis”? It appears he has not appeared in the comic before.
Looks like there is a lot to be revealed in this chapter.

Well, he is apparently the 19th most powerful wizard in the world. Assuming there’s not some OTHER Jarvis running around doing important things.

I’d like to see barriers broken like the ones between rich and poor, between monarch/aristocrat and commoner, between boss and worker. Fortunately, a national independence movement has every potential to become a social revolution 🙂

As for the poll, the best RPG style IMO is like KOTOR, which kinda straggles the line between western and JRPG genres (even though obviously it’s a western game)

So it’s going to be QUEEN Viviana, not Princess.
I’m not complaining though, I always found it weird that Princess Peach and (usually) Zelda were at least 30 years old, but that’s how it works in the real world too, and being fair, “Princess” rolls off the tongue better to me than “Queen”.